Craig J. Barber, a photographer, is based in the Skagit Valley of northwest Washington.

Lugging a camera and dressed in rain gear, Shawn Linehan clambered off a boat and onto the slippery rock base of a raging waterfall near Oregon City, where the Willamette River crashes toward the valley floor.

Her assignment was to photograph tribal members as they leaned into the cascading waters to grab lampreys, also known as eels, a traditional Native American harvest.

“They are reaching into the water catching lamprey. I am on the falls with them,” Linehan said. “I am trying to stay on and get a good shot, which is difficult.”

They dived into the falls, and Linehan held onto the rocks with one hand and shot photos with the other.

“I did not fall in, the camera was fine and I got some good photos,” she said afterward.

Photographers who specialize in shooting natural resources and agriculture occasionally find themselves on the edge of safety as they maneuver to get that perfect shot.

Sometimes, they get too close to the edge.

Atop a southwest Idaho dam to shoot video of water going over the spillway, Brad Elsberg suddenly remembered the barrier he was leaning over was only waist-high. One false move could have been his last.

“I was so excited about what I was doing, I snapped back and thought, ‘I should be a little more careful here,’” he said.

A celebration

For the most part, photography is less an act of derring-do and more one of capturing unique images of farmers and ranchers. It is a visual celebration of agriculture.

“I am there absorbing and documenting,” said La Conner, Washington, based farm photographer Craig J. Barber, a former carpenter who served two tours in Vietnam with the U.S. Marine Corps.

“Agriculture is changing and evolving at a pretty steady, rapid pace, and I hope my work will be a good documentation of that — what agriculture looked like in 2024,” he said.

Barber recently has focused on small operations, particularly the people and their animals.

“I’m really interested in the farmer and the work that goes into producing food,” Barber said. “And now I am interested in focusing on the animals and also the care of them, the husbandry of them.”

A photographer for nearly 50 years, the upstate New York native is inspired by “a lot of painters rather than other photographers,” he said.

Barber likes close-in work.

“I’m right there, pretty much shoulder-to-shoulder with the worker, sheep or horse,” he said. “I am at their eye level. I want people to feel like they are present with me.”

Learning about farms

Linehan, born and raised in North Carolina, taught art for a few years before going back to school to study photography.

She pursued photography full time starting in 2008.

“I wanted to be a commercial photographer, but I wanted clients I loved,” Linehan said.

Farming drew her interest based in part on her explorations of Oregon. She started shooting assignments for magazines.

“I was meeting people. I kept going to things farm-related, and I was learning,” Linehan said.

“I could go to farms and be outside,” she said. “What they are doing is important, and I felt like a lot of people were not paying attention to farmers.”

“They are doing their real jobs. I am showing up and photographing what’s there in front of me,” Linehan added.

Her clients range from produce distributors, grocery chains and food product manufacturers to universities, agencies and nonprofits. On video shoots, her husband, Ken Beck, records the sound.

Boise-based photographer, videographer and food writer Guy Hand has clients ranging from agriculture organizations and agencies to farm and restaurant owners.

When he started concentrating on video in 2011, he loved it because of his experience with still photography and hosting a radio show.

A huge investment in time, learning and equipment came as no surprise to Hand, given his earlier experience in New York City and Los Angeles with big consumer brands and on-location shoots.

“I found early on in photography that you have to commit, fully,” he said. “When I travel, I have eight to 12 cases with me.”

“I like telling stories,” Hand said. And agriculture is “generally under-reported,” with few ag-focused outlets.

Ben Davis, director of marketing and communications at the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences, started with the college as a part-time writer about 10 years ago. He got into photography and videography early on, and for the past five years has emphasized video.

“I’m doing a lot of short-form videos,” he said.

Davis emphasizes capturing expressions, with the subject’s face close to the action.

“My goal is to have their face and what they’re doing close and tight, with enough space around it for graphic design flexibility,” he said.

For video, Davis likes to add movement, particularly if the action is slow, and adjust camera settings to capture the faster action. For video and photo, he advocates getting a variety of close, medium and wide shots, plus verticals.

“You’ll want it all when you start bringing the story to life,” he said. “And add foreground when you can. Let that blurry branch sneak into the frame at the bottom to add depth.”